Back J. B. French J.B. (opera teatrale) Italian J.B. (peça) Portuguese J.B. (play) SIMPLE J.B. Chinese
| J.B. | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Archibald MacLeish |
| Characters | Mr. Zuss Nickles J.B. Sarah David Jonathan Mary Ruth Rebecca First Messenger Second Messenger Girl Jolly Bildad Zophar Eliphaz Mrs. Adams Mrs. Murphy Mrs. Lesure Mrs. Botticelli A Distant Voice Sally Gibson |
| Date premiered | December 11, 1958 |
| Place premiered | ANTA Playhouse New York City |
| Original language | English |
| Subject | A retelling of the Book of Job |
| Genre | Drama |
| Setting | A stage inside an enormous circus tent |
J.B. is a 1958 play written in free verse by American playwright and poet Archibald MacLeish, and is a modern-day retelling of the story of the biblical figure Job. The play is about J.B. (a stand-in for Job), a devout millionaire with a happy domestic life whose life is ruined. The play went through several incarnations before it was finally published. MacLeish began the work in 1953 as a one-act production, but within three years, had expanded it to a full, three-act manuscript.
The play has won several accolades, including the 1959 Tony Award for Best Play and the 1959 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Two versions of J.B. are available, the original book, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and the script that MacLeish revised substantially for Broadway, published by Samuel French Inc.